6 ms·

Ask HN: When is Apple's EV going to be released?

11 points by jppope 5y ago

Curious if anyone knows the release date for the Apple Electric vehicle?

kingkongjaffa 5y ago
I suspect as Dyson learned, Apple is also learning: it's not as easy as it looks. Automotive is a hard game both in engineering and in building a reliable supply chain. Tim Cook can definitely boast a track record when it comes to supply chain so they are in a _better_ place than Dyson at a guess. here's an interesting thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/pgl51b/apple_reportedly_in_talks_with_toyota_about_apple/ https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/pgl51b/apple_reported...
- PhantomGremlin 5y ago
  it's not as easy as it looks I'd love to see Apple try, even if it's just for the lulz. Apple struggled for years to deliver a functioning laptop keyboard. A car is a bit more complicated. How many dongles would you need to buy before the car had reasonable functionality? Would the power source be optional? The other confounding factor is that an Apple car might feature "self driving". I'd also lol at that, but Musk has demonstrated that vaporware is quite acceptable there.
  - lostlogin 5y ago
    > Apple struggled for years to deliver a functioning laptop keyboard. A car is a bit more complicated. One of the biggest car makers found it cheaper to pay out for customers that got burned up by faulty cars, as fixing them all was too expensive. Apple choosing to sort its keyboard issues in a way that initially didn’t include fixing a bad design would appear to be following a well trodden path.
slater 5y ago
Next Thursday.
sebastien_b 5y ago
When they make an acceptable product: - easily serviceable (not just by Apple, like for example getting windshield fluid refilled - no, I’m serious) - properly usable; you shouldn’t have to flip it over to charge it (like their current mice) and other silly things like that. Given how much of a control freak Apple is, and how their motto is basically that they’ll tell you what you want (instead of simply giving you what you want), until that changes drastically (read: management changes), I don’t see a release happening anytime soon (unless they want to risk it potentially being another flop[1]). [1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28438754 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28438754
- DevKoala 5y ago
  What the customer wants is not often what they need, listening to your customers without understanding what they need can be the killer of innovation. Henry Ford has a famous quote: > If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses I don’t think anybody needed a mouse that needs to be flipped to be charged. However, among the dozen things Apple got terribly wrong, there are also a handful ones that they got so right, that became fundamental pillars of technology.
  - sebastien_b 5y ago
    Hubris and arrogance (and “courage”) can only get you so far: - iPod Hifi (which Jobs claimed would completely replace his audio gear ) - the butterfly keyboard - the touchbar - the original (uber pricey) Homepod - the trash can (also pricey) Mac Pro - and I’m pretty sure in a few years’ time we’ll all be looking back at how stupid the “notch” was
    - danielmarkbruce 5y ago
      They are the most valuable company on the planet with a $2.5 trillion market cap. Surely it's fair to say they've gone far?
      - sebastien_b 5y ago
sircastor 5y ago
Automotive is super hard. Unlike tech, it’s a very heavily regulated industry in the United States. Apple is the kind of company that doesn’t enter a market unless they feel like they have something to contribute. If they’re jumping into this market, they’re making sure what they’re doing is going to get them where they want to be. The Apple car has gone from “sure thing” to “cancelled” and back. I would not even bet on its assured release at this point.
- tonyedgecombe 5y ago
  My guess is Apple looked at the trend of increasing technology in cars and how poorly equipped the existing manufacturers are to deliver on that then decided they could do better. I'm doubtful as well.
xyzzy21 5y ago
A major distraction from what they actually know how to do. There are still so many things undone with their current product line but I guess they can't see the forest for the trees at this point, leadership-wise.
runawaybottle 5y ago
If every car on the road needs to be replaced with an EV/Hybrid Self-driving-assist over the next three decades, then the automotive industry is a growth industry like tech. That means, if you simply try, you can get a piece of the pie. They need to hurry up.
- sebastien_b 5y ago
  > every car on the road needs to be replaced with an EV/Hybrid What needs to happen is for [almost] every car on the road to be replaced. Period. We need better transit systems. We need better developed urban areas. We don't need yet another car manufacturer pushing for more car ownership (most of which sit idle for 99% of the time, requiring massive land areas to accommodate). Car ownership as it currently stands (polluting or not) is not sustainable.
sigjuice 5y ago
At the very least, it better have proper CarPlay.

11 points by jppope 5y ago

Curious if anyone knows the release date for the Apple Electric vehicle?

I suspect as Dyson learned, Apple is also learning: it's not as easy as it looks. Automotive is a hard game both in engineering and in building a reliable supply chain. Tim Cook can definitely boast a track record when it comes to supply chain so they are in a _better_ place than Dyson at a guess. here's an interesting thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/pgl51b/apple_reportedly_in_talks_with_toyota_about_apple/ https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/pgl51b/apple_reported...

PhantomGremlin 5y ago
it's not as easy as it looks I'd love to see Apple try, even if it's just for the lulz. Apple struggled for years to deliver a functioning laptop keyboard. A car is a bit more complicated. How many dongles would you need to buy before the car had reasonable functionality? Would the power source be optional? The other confounding factor is that an Apple car might feature "self driving". I'd also lol at that, but Musk has demonstrated that vaporware is quite acceptable there.
- lostlogin 5y ago
  > Apple struggled for years to deliver a functioning laptop keyboard. A car is a bit more complicated. One of the biggest car makers found it cheaper to pay out for customers that got burned up by faulty cars, as fixing them all was too expensive. Apple choosing to sort its keyboard issues in a way that initially didn’t include fixing a bad design would appear to be following a well trodden path.

slater 5y ago

Next Thursday.

sebastien_b 5y ago

When they make an acceptable product: - easily serviceable (not just by Apple, like for example getting windshield fluid refilled - no, I’m serious) - properly usable; you shouldn’t have to flip it over to charge it (like their current mice) and other silly things like that. Given how much of a control freak Apple is, and how their motto is basically that they’ll tell you what you want (instead of simply giving you what you want), until that changes drastically (read: management changes), I don’t see a release happening anytime soon (unless they want to risk it potentially being another flop[1]). [1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28438754 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28438754

DevKoala 5y ago
What the customer wants is not often what they need, listening to your customers without understanding what they need can be the killer of innovation. Henry Ford has a famous quote: > If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses I don’t think anybody needed a mouse that needs to be flipped to be charged. However, among the dozen things Apple got terribly wrong, there are also a handful ones that they got so right, that became fundamental pillars of technology.
- sebastien_b 5y ago
  Hubris and arrogance (and “courage”) can only get you so far: - iPod Hifi (which Jobs claimed would completely replace his audio gear ) - the butterfly keyboard - the touchbar - the original (uber pricey) Homepod - the trash can (also pricey) Mac Pro - and I’m pretty sure in a few years’ time we’ll all be looking back at how stupid the “notch” was
  - danielmarkbruce 5y ago
    They are the most valuable company on the planet with a $2.5 trillion market cap. Surely it's fair to say they've gone far?
    - sebastien_b 5y ago

sircastor 5y ago

Automotive is super hard. Unlike tech, it’s a very heavily regulated industry in the United States. Apple is the kind of company that doesn’t enter a market unless they feel like they have something to contribute. If they’re jumping into this market, they’re making sure what they’re doing is going to get them where they want to be. The Apple car has gone from “sure thing” to “cancelled” and back. I would not even bet on its assured release at this point.

tonyedgecombe 5y ago
My guess is Apple looked at the trend of increasing technology in cars and how poorly equipped the existing manufacturers are to deliver on that then decided they could do better. I'm doubtful as well.

xyzzy21 5y ago

A major distraction from what they actually know how to do. There are still so many things undone with their current product line but I guess they can't see the forest for the trees at this point, leadership-wise.

runawaybottle 5y ago

If every car on the road needs to be replaced with an EV/Hybrid Self-driving-assist over the next three decades, then the automotive industry is a growth industry like tech. That means, if you simply try, you can get a piece of the pie. They need to hurry up.

sebastien_b 5y ago
> every car on the road needs to be replaced with an EV/Hybrid What needs to happen is for [almost] every car on the road to be replaced. Period. We need better transit systems. We need better developed urban areas. We don't need yet another car manufacturer pushing for more car ownership (most of which sit idle for 99% of the time, requiring massive land areas to accommodate). Car ownership as it currently stands (polluting or not) is not sustainable.

sigjuice 5y ago

At the very least, it better have proper CarPlay.